Book Review #2-Ian's Walk

Lears, Laurie. Ian’s Walk: A Story about Autism. Morton Grove: Albert Whitman & Company, 1998.

I chose to read Ian’s Walk, by Laurie Lears as part of my project about autism in literature. It was awarded the Dolly Gray Award for Children’s Literature in Developmental Disabilities. The book is by a woman who has written many books about different issues and disabilities that children face such as epilepsy, stuttering, adoption, and cerebral palsy. Laurie Lears does extensive research on the topic she writes about in order to relay accurate information in a sensitive manner. The book is about a boy named Ian who has autism. The story follows Ian and his two older sisters as they travel to the park to feed the ducks. Along the way, the sisters face challenges because Ian is interested in different things than his sisters. The book describes how Ian’s senses are stimulated in unique ways. It shows Ian smelling bricks, laying on the cement sidewalk, and eating crunchy cereal instead of pizza or ice cream. These desires are typical of people with autism because they like their senses to be stimulated in a strong way. The book showed how everyday events are interpreted and enjoyed differently by people with autism. The book also follows the sisters on their journey from frustration and irritancy to acceptance, and support of their brother. Throughout the book Ian does not verbally communicate with others, which can be another characteristic of autism. This book accurately represents what it might be like to have a sibling with autism. It provides the reader with information about autism, and how to cope with the differences.

The way that the text and the illustrations worked together is impressive. Each picture represented the expressions of the characters brilliantly. People with autism often have a dazed look on their faces and they can appear to look through people, as if they are entering a separate world. This expression was captivated in the illustrations of Ian. The pictures are colorful, and draw the reader into the story. Another aspect of the book that was useful was the note about autism at the beginning of the book. This one page explanation about autism and its effects on families provided a wonderful introduction to the topic. This note and the book as a whole were endorsed by Carol P. Rolland, Ph.D, chief psychologist of developmental pediatrics. Ian’s Walk is an accurate and useful book to use when discussing autism with young children.

Book Review #1-Poems nad Short Stories About my Borther Kevin who has Autism

Carlson, Richard W. Poems and Short Stories About My Brother Kevin Who Has Autism: Entertainment for Boys and Girls Age 6-10. New York: Writers Club Press, 2002.

One book that I chose to read for my project on autism in literature was Poems and Short Stories About My Brother Kevin Who Has Autism: Entertainment for Boys and Girls Age 6-10, by Richard W. Carlson. This book is aimed towards children in elementary school, and is organized into chapters. Each chapter focuses on funny things that Kevin, a boy with autism, does because he has autism. For example, one chapter is devoted to Kevin eating a stranger’s French fries at McDonald’s because he is too hungry to wait for his own food. The chapter explains that Kevin eats the stranger’s food because he does not understand certain boundaries like other people do. He knows that he is hungry; therefore he eats without considering that his actions might not be appropriate. Other chapters in the book include Kevin Gave Himself a Haircut, and Kevin’s Surprise Ride on Duke Our Dog. Each chapter talks about an event from Kevin’s life, and explains how his autism played a role in the events. At the end of each short chapter there is a rhyming poem that summarizes the events that occurred. The stories about Kevin accurately represent how a person with autism may act, and feel. The book does not stereotype people with autism, and is written from the firsthand experience of a sibling of the main character who has autism.

One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed was that the book was illustrated by Kevin Carlson, who is the main character of the book. Kevin’s brother, Richard, wrote the book, and then had his brother draw the pictures. The illustrations are simple, and are composed of very straight lines. The pictures are done in ink, and lack any color. The pictures, like the text take up only about a quarter of each page, leaving much of the page blank. Another important aspect of the book is the informational page at the beginning. It tells who Kevin Carlson is, and describes the characteristics of autism. It explains that autism cannot be caught, there is no cure, and there is a great deal of research being done on the topic. It also explains that people with autism express themselves and understand people differently than others. I feel that this introduction was an effective way to provide background information about autism before reading the stories, and poems. Overall, this book would be a great resource to add to a classroom library, or to use when discussing autism with grade school children.

confessions of a closet catholic meeting

Our group decided to meet on Monday evening at 5:00 p.m. to discuss Confessions of a Closet Catholic. We had a rich conversation partially focused around the question: How did Justine’s relationships influence her self image and religious identity? We discussed how her relationship with her mother had a profound impact on Justine’s self image. The repeated negative comments about her weight undoubtedly affected how she saw herself. Her mother’s criticism about her appearance reinforced Justine’s own negative thought about herself. On the other hand, our group discussed the special relationship that Justine had with her Bubbe. Their relationship, we decided, was positive and unique, and helped Justine through hard times. Although Bubbe’s stroke had a major impact on Justine, she was still able to find strength and reassurance through her grandmother at a time of great confusion. Bubbe’s religious, spiritual, and emotional support came through at Justine’s time of need. Another relationship that our group talked about was between Justine and the rabbi from the Center for Jewish Understanding. This man provided clarity and helpful suggestions that provided Justine with important knowledge without pressuring her. Justine’s relationship with the rabbi form the center for Jewish Understanding was important because he listened to her thoughts and feelings. He did not show bias and did not have a personal agenda that he was pushing. He was there for Justine when she really needed it. As our discussion wound down we talked about personal experiences that we have had involving our own religious identity. It seemed that most of us had questioned our religious identity at one point or another. Our personal experiences helped us relate to Justine as we read the book. We also talked about the impact that the adults in our lives had on both our self image and religious identities. This book did a good job of showing how personal relationships are so influential in shaping the lives of children and young adults.

I felt that our meeting in the library was just as meaningful and rich as our discussions in class. Everyone showd up on time and we were able to cover all of the material we had to talk about. I do not feel that anything was lost due to us meeting ourside of the classroom. I think this experience was useful because it showed me that it is okay to conduct classes in ways that may be different than normal.

boy meets boy

I thought that Boy Meets Boy was a good read, but I question how accurate the representation of leading a gay lifestyle was. I feel like this book romanticized the way that society as a whole responds to alternative lifestyles. The homecoming queen/football star/drag queen, the motorcycle cheerleading team, and the gay comments on the kindergarden report card seemed a bit far fetched. I wonder how this representation affects teens who are questioning themselves, or are trying to find comfort and reassurance through books. I wonder how other gay teens can relate to this book because the majority of the characters in the book were very supportive and open to the gay lifestyle? In addition, the way that Paul's parents reacted to his being gay might not help an individual that may be struggling with the idea of telling their parents about being gay. They might feel that their supportiveness is unrealistic. Does this book lend support, or inflict further questioning about an individual's choices because it seems to easy? These are just a few questions that I thought about as I read this book.

confessions of a closet catholic cover

After I read the book Confessions of a Closet Catholic I paid particular attention to the front cover. All throughout the book there was reference to Justine's appearance. She often commented on how she felt that her hair was big and frizzy, she was overweight, and she got the short, brown, dumpy genes. I began to develop a mental picture in my head about what Justine looked like. I also feel that Justine's negative self image, and low self esteem played a part in the image that I developed. A couple of days after I read the book I noticed the picture on the front cover as it sat on my desk. I can only assume that the picture is of Justine. If it is in fact Justine, my mental picture did not at all match up with the picture on the book. The girl had tamed, pretty, curly brown hair completely lacking any frizz. Her skin was clear and her face was not chubby. I thought that the girl on the front cover was attractive. I don't know if everyone's book has the same picture on it, but I was just wondering if this picture went against the image that the text created for you? For me, after reading the book, my view of Justine changed because of the front cover.

becoming naomi leon

After reading Abagail's post about Becoming Naomi Leon, I found that we had a lot of the same ideas about the book. I, like Abagail wasinterested to see taht in this book it was the mother who had left the family, not the father. I agree that too often it is the fathers who are seen/portrayed as the neglectful/absent parent. This book in a way went against that stereotype. In addition, i wanted to mention that I was very proud of the fact that naomi did not want to leave her brother behind when her mother returned. I was glad that Naomi did not want to be separated from her brother. This book did a good job of showing how oftentimes children with disabilities are not wanted because they seem flawed, but at the same time showed that there are special people in the world such as Gram and Naomi that can give their love to all people despite differences. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and would like to read others by Pam Munoz Ryan in the future.

Book Awards

I thought that the conversation about the different book awards was very interesting. The majority of awards that we covered I had ot heard of before. I liked the way that each group focused on one award, and then shared the main points with the class. I found this to be useful and more managable than fully researching six different awards! I also liked that there were books from the collection that we are redaing for class that have recieved the awards we researched. It was nice to be able to associate a familiar title with the various awards.

In terms of how the awards are given, I think that they should be given for particular types of literature. I also think that everyone who writes a particular type of literature should be considered for the awards. I think it is important to view all authors equally. In my opinion insiders and outsiders should both be considered. Just becasue an author may be writing from an outsider perspective does not mean that they are unable to create quality work.

I also found it interesting that many of the award winning books that we picked up from the library did not have the award symbol on the front cover. In the case of the Schneider Family book award, the reason for this was because the award was so new, and the books were printed before the award was created. I know that it would be impossible to keep up with all of the new awards, but it would be nice to know that the book you check out was a winner of a book award!